Birgir Mikaelsson

Birgir Mikaelsson (born 27 September 1965) is an Icelandic former basketball player and a former member of Icelandic national team. In 1990, he won the national championships with KR. During his career, he played in four different decades.[1]

This is an Icelandic name. The last name is patronymic, not a family name; this person is referred to by the given name Birgir.
Birgir Mikaelsson
Personal information
Born (1965-09-27) 27 September 1965
Akureyri, Iceland
NationalityIcelandic
Career information
High schoolThomas Jefferson
(Jefferson Hills, Pennsylvania)
CollegeTarkio College (1986–87)
Playing career1981–2017
Coaching career1990–2004
Career history
As player:
1981–1982KR
1984–1986KR
1987–1990KR
1990–1994Skallagrímur
1994–1995KR
1995–1996Breiðablik
1996–1997KR
1997–1999Snæfell
1999–2000Skallagrímur
2001Skallagrímur
2001–2003Þór Þorlákshöfn
2003–2004Ármann/Þróttur
200?–2017KR-b
As coach:
1990–1994Skallagrímur (M)
1994–1995ÍS (W)
1996–1997Breiðablik (W)
1998–1999Snæfell (M)
2001–2003Þór Þorlákshöfn (M)
2003–2004Ármann/Þróttur (M)
2010–2011Valur (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As coach:

Career Úrvalsdeild karla playing statistics
Points4,411 (14.0 ppg)
Games316
Career coaching record
Úrvalsdeild karla33–57 (.367)
Úrvalsdeild kvenna9–33 (.214)
1. deild karla58–24 (.707)

Early life

Birgir was born in Akureyri, Iceland, before moving with his family to the capital city of Reykjavík at a young age.[2] There he started playing basketball along with football and handball.[3]

Playing career

Early career

Birgir debuted with KR in February 1981 at the age of 15, becoming one of the youngest players to play in the Úrvalsdeild karla.[3] He appeared in 20 games the following season, averaging 4.0 points per game.

High school

In 1982, Birgir moved to the United States to attend Thomas Jefferson High School in Jefferson Hills, Pennsylvania at the beheast of his KR coach and former ABA player Stew Johnson. He played for the school's basketball team, The Jaguars, where he averaged around 13 points per game during his first season.[2]

Return to Iceland

After two years in the States, Birgir moved back to Iceland an initially planned to play for his hometown team Þór Akureyri in the second-tier 1. deild karla.[4] In September however, he signed back with KR to play in the Úrvalsdeild.[5] During the 1985–86 season, he led the league in free throw percentage by making 90.1% of his free throws while also averaging a team high 20.8 points per game, good for third in the league.[6]

In 1986, Birgir again moved to the United States, this time to attend Tarkio College.[7] He returned to KR the following season.[8] During the 1989, Birgir announced that he would sign with Þór Akureyri but later renegaded on his decision and continued to play for KR.[9][10] In April 1990, he helped KR to its first national championship since 1979.[11][12]

After retiring following the 1999–2000 season, where he led the league in free throw percentage, he returned to Skallagrímur in March 2001.[13] He helped the team win two of its last three games, securing the 8th place and last seat in the playoffs. In the playoffs, Skallagrímur lost 2–1 to Njarðvík in the first round.

Icelandic national team

Birgir played 66 games for the Icelandic national team from 1985 to 1993.[14]

Coaching career

Birgir's first coaching stint was with Skallagrímur with whom he became a player-coach in 1990. He guided the team to first-place finish in the 1. deild karla in 1991 and promotion to the Úrvalsdeild.[15]

In 1997, Birgir was hired as a player-coach for Snæfell. He guided the team to a lossless season in the 1. deild and promotion to the Úrvalsdeild. He resigned from his coaching duties in January 1999 with the team in 8th place.[16]

Birgir was a player-coach for Þór Þorlákshöfn from 2001 to 2003. In his last season, he guided the team to promotion to the Úrvalsdeild.[17]

During the 2003–2004 season, he was a player-coach for Ármann/Þróttur in the 1. deild. He served as an assistant to Yngvi Gunnlaugsson with Valur for the 2010–2011 season in the 1. deild and helped the team to promotion to the Úrvalsdeild.[18]

Coaching record
Season League Team Wins Losses  % Playoffs Notes
1990-91 1. deild karlaSkallagrímur8467%-Promoted to Úrvalsdeild
1991-92 Úrvalsdeild karlaSkallagrímur62023%-
1992-93 Úrvalsdeild karlaSkallagrímur141254%1st round
1993-94 Úrvalsdeild karlaSkallagrímur71927%-
1994-95 Úrvalsdeild kvennaÍS81633%-
1996-97 Úrvalsdeild kvennaBreiðablik1175%-
1997-98 1. deild karlaSnæfell180100%WinnersPromoted to Úrvalsdeild
1998-99 Úrvalsdeild karlaSnæfell6650%Resigned in January 1999
2001-02 1. deild karlaÞór Þorlákshöfn11761%DNQ
2002-03 1. deild karlaÞór Þorlákshöfn11568%FinalsPromoted to Úrvalsdeild
2003-04 1. deild karlaÁrmann/Þróttur10856%Semi-finals

Titles, awards and accomplishments

Titles

Awards

Accomplishments

References
  1. "Fjögurra áratuga klúbburinn". Fúsíjama TV (in Icelandic). 19 January 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  2. "Strákarnir mínir jörðuðu þá alveg". Dagur (in Icelandic). 6 May 1983. p. 3. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  3. "Þetta kom mér mjög á óvart". Vísir (in Icelandic). 2 March 1981. p. 2. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  4. "Birgir til liðs við Þórsara". Dagur (in Icelandic). 20 August 1984. p. 6. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  5. "Birgir ekki með". Dagur (in Icelandic). 10 September 1984. p. 6. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  6. "Pálmar og Linda best í körfunni". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 15 March 1986. p. 54. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  7. Jón Sigurðsson. "Körfubolti". Íþróttablaðið (in Icelandic). p. 58. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  8. "Úrvalsdeildin hefst í kvöld". Þjóðviljinn (in Icelandic). 16 October 1987. p. 15. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  9. "Næst munum við hlæja að honum". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 15 August 1989. p. 17. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  10. "Birgir Mikaelsson hættur við að ganga til liðs við Þórsara". Dagur (in Icelandic). 16 August 1989. p. 11. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  11. "Bikarinn í vesturbæ". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 9 April 1990. pp. 24–25. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  12. Skapti Hallgrímsson (10 April 1990). "Gullinn bjarmi yfir Vesturbæ". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). p. 4B. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  13. "Þar lágu Keflvíkingar í því". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 5 March 2001. p. 21. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  14. "KKÍ | A landslið". kki.is. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  15. "Rannsakar af hverju svona sterk hefð er fyrir körfubolta í Borgarnesi". Skessuhorn (in Icelandic). 15 October 2015. p. 30. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  16. "Þjálfaraskipti hjá Snæfelli". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 13 January 1999. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  17. "Birgir þjálfar í Þorlákshöfn". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 11 June 2003. p. 37. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  18. "Báðir meistaraflokkarnir leika í efstu deild og yngri flokkarnir eflast". Valsblaðið (in Icelandic). 1 May 2011. pp. 136, 139. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
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